An emergency consultation between Public Prosecution Service, Eindhoven’s mayor and judiciary takes place today.
The subject of this emergency consultation is Eindhoven’s Down Town shisha-lounge. A hand grenade exploded in front of the place along the Leenderweg early Saturday morning.
A decision must be taken if Down Town, which is located next to culture-venue Pand P, remains closed or will be allowed to open again. Eindhoven Dagblad covers the story today.
At the time of the explosion, around 03:00 Saturday morning, the lounge was closed. No one was injured. The damage was restricted to a cracked window. Local residents did wake up because of the bang; but presumed the noise was caused by fireworks.
Down Town’s owner only discovered the damage Saturday afternoon. After alerting police, police in turn discovered the bang and damage had not been caused by fireworks, but by a hand grenade.
The owner has no idea who is responsible and why. He says he has never had any problems in the 4.5 years his venue has been on the Leenderweg.
Crime
In other parts of the country, shisha-lounges are regularly the scene of criminal activities.
Criminals, for example, consider this kind of business a nice way of meeting and doing business with fellow criminals. Threats as well as other criminal activities between gangs do occur.
Other entrepreneurs in Eindhoven state they have no idea who frequent Down Town, or remain mum.
Last October, Eindhoven’s City Pavilion was shot at with a heavy caliber automatic weapon. At the time, mayor Jorritsma decided to close the restaurant located next the Stadswandelpark.
It seems that criminals are deliberately trying to get rid of competing catering outlets. This is why Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema recently decided against the policy of automatic closure of catering outlets.
Shisha-lounges
In Eindhoven, the number of shisha-launges has recently increased. An online check shows the city currently numbers seven of these.
An eighth shisha-launge is to open along the Morelselaan in Stratum. There a shisha-lounge was shut down, but will soon be succeeded by Cukur Lounge. This new shisha-lounge will be situated quite near Down Town.
Source: Studio 040
Translator: Kate
